Monday, October 31, 2005

Six major endurance races to be held in the 2005-06 season Web posted at: 10/31/2005 7:56:6Source ::: The Peninsula photo: HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani

DOHA: The Qatar Endurance Committee, under the chairmanship of HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, has approved the 2005-06 calendar. In the new season, six major races will be held at the Endurance Village in Sealine, Mesaieed.

The races are planned in such a way that even the seniors and juniors get opportunities to show their talent.

Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki, director of the endurance committee, said the highlight of the season will be the Qatar International Endurance Race to be held on February 26, 2006.

?We are ready for the new season. I am sure we will see exciting contests in the new season also. Horse racing is a passion with people in Qatar and there?s never a dull moment when the horse racing season starts,? Al Malki told reporters yesterday.

?We hope the new season will be a memorable one for all those concerned with endurance races.?

The GCC Endurance Championship will also be a big event and will be held on January 28.

For a long period of time, some of the world?s best horses and riders have seen in action in various events staged in Qatar.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Young Mid Wales rider Philip Hirst will be riding for his country this winter following his selection for the World Young Riders Endurance Championships.

The 20-year-old from Meifod has been chosen for the British team due to compete at the Bahrain staged championships this December after a tough selection process that climaxed at the Sherwood Ride this autumn.

?The selection process went very well and this year we had nine strong horses ready to go to Bahrain, compared to only six last year,? said Philip.

?I spent three weeks in Dubai training last winter where the conditions were quite decent and I expect them to be the same out in Bahrain.?

Philip also flew over to Bahrain last year to take part in a ?dry run? for the Championships, so has some idea of what to expect.

Philip will ride the 15.1hh pure bred Arab Vlacq Khamul, who came from the Vlacq Stud in North Wales and has been with the Hirst family for five years.

The pair won The Dukeries 160km Ride at the beginning of the season to bring them to the selector?s attention and also finished fifth at a 120km International ride in France.

Contact: Bill Davenport of the Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States, 703-440-1720

News Advisory:

WHAT: Wild horse and burro adoption, where more than 100 horses and burros will be available for adoption.

WHO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States

WHERE: Lakeside Arena, Frankfort, Kentucky

WHEN: Animals arrive for viewing November 4, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Adoptions November 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and November 6 from 8 a.m. to noon

WHY: To help maintain an ecological balance on western rangelands, and preserve mustangs as 'living legends.' BLM gathers some horses and burros each year to control the population and offers them to qualified individuals for adoption.

DETAILS: Gentled wild horses in the United States are being used for trail riding, dressage, western events, and other disciplines. They are noted for their endurance, sure-footedness and intelligence. Burros are great companion animals and are sometimes used by farmers for predator control. ----------------http://www.usnewswire.com/

Officials of the Kentucky Horse Park and the U.S. Equestrian Federation estimate that it would cost about $33 million to put on the World Equestrian Games in 2010, but they expect to make that much and more from ticket sales, TV deals, sponsorships and other revenue generators.

That's based on the expectation that the event would bring about 300,000 people to Lexington from 40 or more countries.

Some experts say it's difficult to predict just how successful the games might be, and previous events have not been without problems.

The 1994 World Equestrian Games in the Netherlands were plagued by organizational snags, and Ireland had to back out of plans to hold the 1998 games when the Irish government elected not to provide funding.

But Kentucky officials say the horse park's worldwide reputation, vast facilities and long track record of holding major equestrian events constitute unique advantages that should make for successful games.

"The games would have the largest economic impact of any event ever brought to Kentucky," said sports marketing executive Jim Host, who has worked on Lexington's bid to host the games and until recently was Kentucky's commerce secretary.

"The international TV exposure alone would be unlike anything that's ever happened in this part of the country," Host said.

That's if the games come to Lexington, and there won't be a decision on that until December.

The Horse Park and the equestrian federation are polishing the joint presentation they will make to the Federation Equestre Internationale at its meeting in Bahrain on Dec. 6.

A group representing the Normandy area of France -- thought to be the only other finalist -- also will present a bid. The FEI is expected to announce a decision that day.

If Lexington is selected, it would be the first city outside Europe ever to host the games.

"I certainly would never declare victory before we've been selected, but I am confident that we've put together the best bid we possibly can," said John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Hose Park. "But I think we have to proceed as if we're going to be awarded the games, because we'll need to get moving just as soon as a decision is made in order to be ready."

With the games five years away, much could change. But Nicholson says the budget for staging the event will be about $33 million, including the cost of security, extra personnel, seating and other items. One big part of that expense would be a temporary 25,000-seat stadium, which would be the site for the games' opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a venue for some of the competitions. The facility would be disassembled afterward.

"It would be a temporary structure, but it wouldn't look temporary," Nicholson said.

The cost of putting on the games would be covered by ticket sales, TV contracts and sponsorships. According to Nicholson, the Lexington games would have seven to 10 major sponsors, plus other sponsorships.

While the FEI would retain television rights to broadcast the Lexington games live in Europe, the Horse Park and the U.S. Equestrian Federation probably would receive North American television rights. Nicholson said he expects that they would contract with some U.S. sports cable channel for live coverage, and possibly with a mainstream network for regular summaries.

Meanwhile, park officials plan millions of dollars of improvements under a separate budget to get the Horse Park ready for the games, which are scheduled for Sept. 20 to Oct. 3, 2010. These include:

? Improvements to the roads that run through the 1,200-acre park, which would cost between $4 million and $5 million.

? A 250-room resort hotel near the horse park's entrance on Ironworks Pike.

Nicholson said the hotel is expected to cost nearly $30 million; it is being developed privately. Koll Development Co. of Dallas has been awarded a contract to build it, and construction is planned to start in June.

Both the indoor arena and road resurfacing work will be financed through state bonds. While those projects will provide additional enhancement for the World Equestrian Games, they are necessary to upgrade the Horse Park even if the equestrian games aren't held here, Nicholson said.

The World Equestrian Games have been held four times since being unveiled in Stockholm in 1990. The fifth edition is set for Aachen, Germany, next year. According to FEI's Web site, Aachen officials expect 500,000 visitors -- they say they already have received 200,000 ticket orders -- and the games are predicted to generate an economic benefit of 230 million euros (about $275 million U.S. dollars) for Germany.

But the games have had some rough spots before.

"The 1994 games in the Netherlands were an absolute disaster, with budget difficulties, organizational problems, lack of accommodations for some riders and grooms," said Daniel Bell, research director for the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles and author of the Encyclopedia of International Games.

The 1998 equestrian games, scheduled for Ireland, had to be switched to Rome when the Irish government decided in 1997 not to provide money to help organizers prepare. However, the Rome games reportedly were successful. Although the event was in strong form by 2002, a lack of permanent stabling for the games in Spain that year forced some competitors' horses to be stabled in tents, which flooded when it rained.

The British considered bidding for the 2010 games, but decided not to proceed because of the costs involved and because England already was scheduled to hold some major international events.

"These games are sort of like the Olympics, some do well and some don't, and it's very fluid," Bell said.

The key to pulling off a major international event like the World Equestrian Games is having "an enormously strong personality" to ramrod things, Bell said.

"For Kentucky that would be someone who is really passionate about the state, the horse park, and Lexington, and who has the skills to motive people and work with people from 50 different countries," he said.

Lexington has three leaders on board: Nicholson and U.S. Equestrian Federation CEO John Long (they will jointly present Lexington's bid in Bahrain), plus Host, who says he'll continue working to help the games, even though he no longer works for the state.

Ken Troske, director of the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research, said predicting how successful the games might be in Lexington is difficult because the event has no track record outside Europe.

"Using the experience of cities in Europe to make an estimate of what might happen here is kind of dicey," Troske said. "From London or Paris, it's a fairly short train ride to Aachen. You can rent a car in Cologne and drive to Aachen in an hour. But it's hard to predict how many of those people might come over here. If they'd had the games even once outside Europe, it would give you something to go by."

However, Nicholson said the fact that the games have not been held outside Europe should be a boost if the event comes to Lexington.

"There would be a lot of novelty in them being the first non-European games," he said.

Nicholson added that organizers think the Lexington games also would get strong attendance from Europe, South America and parts of Asia where equestrian sports are highly popular.

Lexington's bid is made stronger by the fact that the Kentucky Horse Park already has enough facilities to stage the event almost entirely on-site, he said.

The endurance riding course would have to extend off horse-park property, he said, but every other event could be held within the park's 1,200 acres. The park also has more than enough stalls to accommodate all the horses that would be coming, he said.

Finally, Nicholson said, the Horse Park has a worldwide reputation for successfully staging major equestrian events, dating back to the World Championship Three-Day Event at the park in 1978 and including the Rolex Three-Day Event held at the park annually.

"No place in the world can do a three-day event as well as we can," he said.

Officials of the Kentucky Horse Park and the U.S. Equestrian Federation estimate that it would cost about $33 million to put on the World Equestrian Games in 2010, but they expect to make that much and more from ticket sales, TV deals, sponsorships and other revenue generators.

That's based on the expectation that the event would bring about 300,000 people to Lexington from 40 or more countries.

Some experts say it's difficult to predict just how successful the games might be, and previous events have not been without problems.

The 1994 World Equestrian Games in the Netherlands were plagued by organizational snags, and Ireland had to back out of plans to hold the 1998 games when the Irish government elected not to provide funding.

But Kentucky officials say the horse park's worldwide reputation, vast facilities and long track record of holding major equestrian events constitute unique advantages that should make for successful games.

"The games would have the largest economic impact of any event ever brought to Kentucky," said sports marketing executive Jim Host, who has worked on Lexington's bid to host the games and until recently was Kentucky's commerce secretary.

"The international TV exposure alone would be unlike anything that's ever happened in this part of the country," Host said.

That's if the games come to Lexington, and there won't be a decision on that until December.

The Horse Park and the equestrian federation are polishing the joint presentation they will make to the Federation Equestre Internationale at its meeting in Bahrain on Dec. 6.

A group representing the Normandy area of France -- thought to be the only other finalist -- also will present a bid. The FEI is expected to announce a decision that day.

If Lexington is selected, it would be the first city outside Europe ever to host the games.

"I certainly would never declare victory before we've been selected, but I am confident that we've put together the best bid we possibly can," said John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Hose Park. "But I think we have to proceed as if we're going to be awarded the games, because we'll need to get moving just as soon as a decision is made in order to be ready."

With the games five years away, much could change. But Nicholson says the budget for staging the event will be about $33 million, including the cost of security, extra personnel, seating and other items. One big part of that expense would be a temporary 25,000-seat stadium, which would be the site for the games' opening and closing ceremonies, as well as a venue for some of the competitions. The facility would be disassembled afterward.

"It would be a temporary structure, but it wouldn't look temporary," Nicholson said.

The cost of putting on the games would be covered by ticket sales, TV contracts and sponsorships. According to Nicholson, the Lexington games would have seven to 10 major sponsors, plus other sponsorships.

While the FEI would retain television rights to broadcast the Lexington games live in Europe, the Horse Park and the U.S. Equestrian Federation probably would receive North American television rights. Nicholson said he expects that they would contract with some U.S. sports cable channel for live coverage, and possibly with a mainstream network for regular summaries.

Meanwhile, park officials plan millions of dollars of improvements under a separate budget to get the Horse Park ready for the games, which are scheduled for Sept. 20 to Oct. 3, 2010. These include:

? Improvements to the roads that run through the 1,200-acre park, which would cost between $4 million and $5 million.

? A 250-room resort hotel near the horse park's entrance on Ironworks Pike.

Nicholson said the hotel is expected to cost nearly $30 million; it is being developed privately. Koll Development Co. of Dallas has been awarded a contract to build it, and construction is planned to start in June.

Both the indoor arena and road resurfacing work will be financed through state bonds. While those projects will provide additional enhancement for the World Equestrian Games, they are necessary to upgrade the Horse Park even if the equestrian games aren't held here, Nicholson said.

The World Equestrian Games have been held four times since being unveiled in Stockholm in 1990. The fifth edition is set for Aachen, Germany, next year. According to FEI's Web site, Aachen officials expect 500,000 visitors -- they say they already have received 200,000 ticket orders -- and the games are predicted to generate an economic benefit of 230 million euros (about $275 million U.S. dollars) for Germany.

But the games have had some rough spots before.

"The 1994 games in the Netherlands were an absolute disaster, with budget difficulties, organizational problems, lack of accommodations for some riders and grooms," said Daniel Bell, research director for the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles and author of the Encyclopedia of International Games.

The 1998 equestrian games, scheduled for Ireland, had to be switched to Rome when the Irish government decided in 1997 not to provide money to help organizers prepare. However, the Rome games reportedly were successful. Although the event was in strong form by 2002, a lack of permanent stabling for the games in Spain that year forced some competitors' horses to be stabled in tents, which flooded when it rained.

The British considered bidding for the 2010 games, but decided not to proceed because of the costs involved and because England already was scheduled to hold some major international events.

"These games are sort of like the Olympics, some do well and some don't, and it's very fluid," Bell said.

The key to pulling off a major international event like the World Equestrian Games is having "an enormously strong personality" to ramrod things, Bell said.

"For Kentucky that would be someone who is really passionate about the state, the horse park, and Lexington, and who has the skills to motive people and work with people from 50 different countries," he said.

Lexington has three leaders on board: Nicholson and U.S. Equestrian Federation CEO John Long (they will jointly present Lexington's bid in Bahrain), plus Host, who says he'll continue working to help the games, even though he no longer works for the state.

Ken Troske, director of the University of Kentucky Center for Business and Economic Research, said predicting how successful the games might be in Lexington is difficult because the event has no track record outside Europe.

"Using the experience of cities in Europe to make an estimate of what might happen here is kind of dicey," Troske said. "From London or Paris, it's a fairly short train ride to Aachen. You can rent a car in Cologne and drive to Aachen in an hour. But it's hard to predict how many of those people might come over here. If they'd had the games even once outside Europe, it would give you something to go by."

However, Nicholson said the fact that the games have not been held outside Europe should be a boost if the event comes to Lexington.

"There would be a lot of novelty in them being the first non-European games," he said.

Nicholson added that organizers think the Lexington games also would get strong attendance from Europe, South America and parts of Asia where equestrian sports are highly popular.

Lexington's bid is made stronger by the fact that the Kentucky Horse Park already has enough facilities to stage the event almost entirely on-site, he said.

The endurance riding course would have to extend off horse-park property, he said, but every other event could be held within the park's 1,200 acres. The park also has more than enough stalls to accommodate all the horses that would be coming, he said.

Finally, Nicholson said, the Horse Park has a worldwide reputation for successfully staging major equestrian events, dating back to the World Championship Three-Day Event at the park in 1978 and including the Rolex Three-Day Event held at the park annually.

"No place in the world can do a three-day event as well as we can," he said.

Karen Kroon of Cheyenne, WY, won the 2005 FEI North American Endurance Championship CEIO**** at the 17th annual Fair Hill International Festival in the Country in Elkton, MD, October 9-10.

Kroon won the continental championship?s Individual Gold medal by finishing the 100-mile ride in a time of 11:45:30 on Rokket, her 11-year-old bay Arabian gelding.

Dominique Freeman of La Honda, CA, who finished in 11:45:50 seconds on Jayel Super, a 13-year-old bay Arabian gelding owned by Stagg and Cheryl Newman, finished second behind Kroon, but as a citizen of Great Britain was not eligible for a medal in the North American Championship, which is open only to riders representing North American countries.

Winning the Individual Silver was Sandra E. Conner of Conowingo, MD who finished third overall with a time of 12:03:32 on Elegant Pride, a 10-year-old gray Arabian gelding owned by Lana Wright. The Bronze medal went to Betty Baker of Honeybrook, PA, who finished fourth overall with a time of 12:03:42 on Synematic, her eight-year-old gray Arabian gelding.

?To win is a real surprise to me,? said Kroon. ?My horse has the ability, but there was 10 inches of snow on the ground when we left Wyoming, so this was a real change of climate. We usually train at 7,000 feet and to come here and compete under such drastically different conditions, well, it?s a real thrill and a great honor for us to win.?

The Best Condition Award went to Rebel Fire Bask, owned and ridden by Nicole Chappell Wiere of Elk Grove, CA, who placed ninth with a time of 12:48:21. Receiving an Honorable Mention for Best Condition was the Bronze Medal-winning Elegant Pride,Karen Kroon Wins FEI North American Endurance Championship at 2005 Fair Hill International

The USA Pacific South team of Wiere on Rebel Fire Bask, Barry Waitte of Los Gatos, CA on LV Cambridge, Carolyn Hock of Riverside, CA, on GT Sando, and Heather Reynolds of Los Gatos, CA, on CP Magestic won the Team Gold. Hillorie Bachmann of Cupertino, CA, on CV Eli and Jeff Townsend of Los Gatos, CA, on Kann Sam Count also represented USA Pacific South, riding as individuals. The Team Silver went to Pacific North and the Bronze when to USA Central. USA Mountain was fourth, USA East was fifth, Canada East was sixth and Canada West was seventh.

Detailed results and further information on the 2005 Fair Hill International Festival in the Country is available at www.fairhillinternational.com.

The annual Chamberlain Creek 50-mile Endurance Ride out of Dunlop Camp on Hwy 20 took place Sept. 24. This equestrian event brought together horse and rider teams from Nevada, Trinity/Eureka, Novato, Potter Valley, England, Argentina and Mendocino. Twenty-six riders entered the 30-mile limited distance challenge and 46 riders went for the 50-mile event.

Being local turned out to be a good thing. The winner of the 50-mile race, for the second year in a row, was Mendocino rider Ed Anderson and his Arabian, Neekalos.

The team of Anderson and Neekalos set a new record for time last year with a finish of 4 hours and 26 minutes. Fifty-mile riders are allowed a maximum time of 12 hours to get an official completion.

This year they added a mere two minutes to that time and were awarded the coveted Best Condition Award. Using stringent criteria, best condition honors a horse out of the top ten finishers which the veterinarians decide is best suited to run for the doctor at the end of the ride.

Other locals in the top ten were Lari Shea of Mendocino on Indiana Jones coming in second, and Jeannie Pepper of Albion on North Bey, finishing seventh. Both teams received recognition by the veterinarians for their high best condition scores.

Emily Bloom from Fort Bragg was the first junior (under 16) to complete the 50-miler. Diana Dalton also finished the 50 in fine form, as did Cynthia Ariosta of Fort Bragg on Spirit. Other riders included Cathy DiVito of Potter Valley, Forrest Tancer of Sebastopol, Sky Carruthers of Argentina and Rebecca Bailey of England. Both Carruthers and Bailey are working at Ricochet Ridge Ranch in Fort Bragg at this time.

Many coastal folks worked hard in helping ride manager Marianne Gerssing put on this event. Among the volunteers were Calamity Paul, Steve Eliason, and Cynthia LeDuc of Fort Bragg, Gail and John Joseph and Dory Kwan and her daughter Ella from Albion.

"To finish is to win," is the motto of the endurance riding and anyone who has done a distance ride on a horse in all varieties of weather and terrain, soon learns the beauty and truth of these words.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

72 riders compete in Endurance RideWednesday, 12 October 2005

A picture perfect weekend greeted the 72 riders that came to Woodstock on 24 & 25 September to compete in the 80km ride and take part in the 40km training ride. The district put on its best conditions allowing horses to travel over tracks that were soft under foot, with just a touch of humidity that hinted at the storms that would come just after the last floats drove out of the showground on Sunday afternoon. The 80km ride was won by Peter Norman from Nowra on a 13 year old pure Arabian gelding, "Bellarine Pasha", in a riding time of 4 hours 37 minutes. The last rider completed the course in a time of 8 hours and one minute, well and truly within the maximum riding time of 9 hours. Successful local riders were Nikki Tucker riding "Sanlargo Mystique", Robin Gossip on "Sudan, Petrina Besedic riding "Anabriar Khaboul" and Erica Allan on "Ebony".

The course travelled through the properties of Guy Geeves and Yvonne Cousins, John and Kit Cooley, Clare Mcginniskin and Pat Macree, Andrew and Annette Bailey, Barry and Penny Gay and Barry and Jenny Blinman. All these landowners provided a magnificent backdrop for riders from all over the State to experience our marvellous district in all its seasonal glory.

The ride was supported by many locals including Graham and Karen Gay, Brett Blinman, Margaret Hamilton, Alan Carter, Larah Eamens and members of the Cowra Cadets working in the timing tent. Kit and John Cooley were ever present in the Vetting area taking pulse rates before the horses presented to the vets. Dawn Cummins stewarded a gate for the best part of the morning and the Cowra Cadets also helped by sitting at the many gates that remained opened for the duration of the ride. The Cowra Cadets also catered a magnificent dinner on Saturday night with funds raised going towards their end of year festivities.

Dirt bikes were given a work out by Phil Tucker, Steve Green and Luke Tidswell who went around the course to open gates and check markers at 4.30am on Sunday and then shut all the gates at the end of the day. The Cowra Bush Fire Brigade provided excellent communications over the entire course and the Woodstock Bush Fire Brigade provided backup water for the horses. Other helpers included Nicole O'Connor who pencilled for the vets and Chris Newham and Judy O'Connor who ably assisted in the canteen.

Endurance riding provides an excellent opportunity for horse riders to enjoy country that they would not normally experience. Participants travel over courses that are well marked and watered and it never fails to amaze riders just how much the horses enjoy the whole "socialisation" with other horses.

The training ride concept built into the sport allows for riders to experience the course, without necessarily having to do a whole endurance ride of 80kms or more. This takes the pressure off having to train and feed to the same extent as having a fitter horse to do the longer distances.

Next year, Lachlan Endurance Riders will hold its normal format of 80kms and 40kms and will also have a 20km ride for those wishing to have a taste of the sport. For more information on endurance riding, contact Karen Rhodes on 63450 257 ah, or Annette Bailey on 63450383 or go the NSW Endurance Riders Association web site at www.nswera.asn.au